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Vince & Kath & James: MMFF Movie Review

"Vince and Kath and James" doesn't really break the local romance-comedy mold. It stays true to a formula that works which makes it rather pedestrian and predictable. But what makes the film work is the tremendous acting and chemistry behind the two main leads Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto.

Kath (Julia Barretto) has just won her school's pageant as Miss Engineering 2016. With her popularity on the rise, she catches the eye of varsity star player, James (Ronnie Alonte). But as good as James is on court, he is as woefully bad in courting and getting the attention of Kath. But after finding out that his cousin Vince (Joshua Garcia) was able to help their friend get a girlfriend with his texting skills, he asks Vince's help. What James doesn't realize is that Vince has had a crush on Kath for the longest time and just hasn't had the gall to ever admit his feelings towards her. When Kath starts falling in love with her secret text admirer Var (with the messages sent by Vince), things start to get complicated as James is obviously not the persona behind the sweet texts while Vince realizes that he may just lose the love of his life.

Let's get straight to the point, "Vince and Kath and James" was both predictable and creative at the same time. It was predictable as it uses the same formula as how most local romcoms are written. You will definitely see how conflicts are developed and resolved a mile away. The film tries to add some spice with the family problems our leads had to deal with in which a huge chunk of the emotional punch near the end was latched onto. It was mostly successful but we felt that these mini conflicts felt tacked on rather than being essential to the core of the story. What we loved though was Director Theodore Boborol's cinematography especially the exchange between "Var" and Kath. The back and forth between the two characters as they send and receive text messages were nicely shot and really brings to life the sweet exchanges between the two. Another great thing about the movie was its cast. Joshua Garcia was the literal stand out as he shows his range as an actor. His portrayal of the hopeless romantic and quirky Vince feels natural and he was able to do some serious drama when he needed to. Julia Barretto was surprisingly great but Ronnie Alonte was mostly disappointing. While we would have loved if "Vince and Kath and James" was able to reinvent the wheel, the end result is more than acceptable and well importantly, enjoyable

Rating: 4 reels

Why you should watch it:
- the acting and chemistry between Joshua and Julia brought romantic excitement
- cinematography was creative and fun